DoH: Hayat reaches 2,100 transplants as Abu Dhabi capacity grows

Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) said Hayat has supported more than 2,100 transplants since its 2017 launch, putting ICU capacity, theatre access and donor referral workflows on Abu Dhabi operators’ 2026 agenda.

The announcement, reported by Google News from Abu Dhabi Media Office on 13 August 2026, gives CEOs, COOs and medical directors a capacity number to use in planning. For CEOs, 2,100-plus transplants show how far Abu Dhabi has moved into tertiary and quaternary care. For COOs, the pressure points are transplant coordinators, brain-death committees, theatre scheduling and post-operative ICU beds. For medical directors, the risk sits in donor consent, organ acceptance and multidisciplinary governance.

Why the 2,100 figure changes capacity planning

Hayat, formally the National Programme for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue, is a national system run with Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) coordination and emirate-level regulators. DoH supervises Abu Dhabi and Al Ain facilities, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) covers Dubai providers, and MOHAP is the federal reference point for the Northern Emirates and the national registry.

DoH public data show the pace of transplant volume. Abu Dhabi Media Office said Abu Dhabi reported more than 800 transplants from 2017 to the end of 2023. It later said the emirate reached 1,090 successful transplants to the end of 2024, including 290 in 2024 alone, according to Abu Dhabi Media Office. The 2026 figure puts a larger operating base in front of hospital planners.

• 290 Abu Dhabi transplants were reported for 2024.
• 142 of those were kidney transplants.
• 117 were liver transplants.
• 22 were lung transplants, with 7 heart transplants and 2 pancreas transplants.

Where the work is being done

Abu Dhabi’s transplant work is concentrated in four named centres: Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Burjeel Medical City and Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City. That concentration gives payers and operators a clear market map. Centres that can staff complex surgery, run 24-hour retrieval pathways and document outcomes for regulators and insurers have the strongest case for transplant-linked growth.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi said in 2024 that it had performed 664 transplants since its programme began in 2017. DoH later said the hospital performed 241 multi-organ transplants in 2024, including the UAE’s first combined heart-lung transplant. For private groups, the benchmark is now the surrounding system: hepatology, nephrology, heart failure, pulmonary medicine, histocompatibility testing, blood bank resilience and ICU nursing.

"We continue to encourage more people to register as organ donors through the Hayat programme." — Dr Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of DoH, in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Media Office statement

What operators should check next

The compliance frame is federal. The UAE allows organ and tissue transplantation from living and deceased donors under Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2016, and DoH says on its organ donation page that donors can register through Hayat. DHA says on its Hayat page that UAE nationals and residents over 21 can register, and that deceased donation requires family consent.

For COOs, the immediate check is whether emergency, ICU and neurology teams can identify potential donors and complete the required medical documentation without disrupting elective capacity. For CFOs, the question is whether transplant-linked investment brings reimbursed volume or unfunded complexity. For CIOs, the gap is data movement across donor registration, hospital records, laboratory systems and regulator reporting. The next signal to watch is whether DoH, DHA or MOHAP publishes new facility licensing, quality or reporting requirements tied to Hayat after the 2,100-plus milestone.